Know Your Rights!- What If You Aren't Getting Compensated For Your Overtime?

Overtime hours worked by the employees have to be compensated from the employer as it is their right. And if the employer is cutting losses and refusing to pay for overtime, it is time to file a lawsuit for your unpaid wages. There are different factors that play a part for you to claim a legit compensation.

Standard minimum wages:

You must be paid the minimum wage for the hours you have worked for or the agreed wage at the time of contract. And if your employer is refusing to pay that rate, then you should file a lawsuit.

Overtime wages:

If you are working overtime, then you should be paid extra than the normal wages. Under the law governed differently by different states, the overtime wages have to paid if the forty hour weekly limit of the employee is being exceeded and the wages should be one hundred fifty percent of your regular rate. And if your employer is failing to pay you overtime, then you will have legit claim to pursue lawsuit against your employer.  

 Penalty fees:

By law, the employer is to pay additional penalty along with the unpaid wages. The attorney fees also has to be paid in addition to the the money you spend in  pursuing the case. If you win the lawsuit, then every additional cost you spent for the case, the penalty, the overtime pay will have to be paid to you.

Rate of interest:

State laws have regulations regarding the unpaid or overtimes wages and one has to be paid along with the rate of interest which is liquidated damage. The amount that is charged over the unpaid wages is set as lieu of interest, to be awarded to employee who has successfully proven the charges against the employer under federal law.

So these are the some basic overtime payment regulations and if your employer is breaking the law by violating the agreement, it is time to hire a law firm for filing the lawsuit.

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How Records Can Help You Win Your Unpaid Wages Case?

Unpaid wages lawsuits are filed in the situations where an employee is cheated out of fair payments by the employer. It can be either not paying minimum wages or overtime to workers. And, there are many other ways that employers use to avoid paying fair wages to workers. However, once the lawsuit is filed with the help of a professional lawyer for unpaid wages, an employee can surely hope for justice.

However, you need appropriate evidence to prove your case. And, records can be very helpful for your lawsuit. How? Here is the answer –

To prove your claim in court – Records can help your case in court by justifying your claim for unpaid wages. Records of your logging in or logging out, breaks, holidays and overtime can be the evidence of the hours you have worked for your employer. This proves that the company paid you less than you deserved on the basis of your hours spent working in a regular work week.

However, you need to be sure that you were not working off the clock, which is the time that an employer makes the worker work before they have logged in their systems or after they have logged out. But, you should know that the company is liable to pay for that time too.

Evidence in your lawsuit – These records will be the biggest evidence in your unpaid wages lawsuit and prove your claim. Court accepts records as the proof on the behalf of plaintiff.

However, it may be difficult for you to understand the complexities of lawsuit, unpaid wages law etc. You might need professional legal help to sort everything out and get the decision in your favor. Hire a professional attorney to represent your case against the employer and claim justice along with financial compensation.

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A Few Unpaid Wages Situations

According to the federal and state laws, all the rights of the workers are secured. No employer has the right to deny the desired compensation or wages to employees. However, there are situations when the employers wrongfully deny the wages that their workers rightfully deserve. The most common unpaid wages situations are -

• Refusing to pay the minimum wage – This is a common unpaid wages situation where the employer tends to pay less than the minimum wages. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. However, there are some states that have greater payments per hour as well as protection.

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  Refusing to pay bonus and commission - It is the situation where an employer refuses to pay bonus and commissions that were decided in advance for the job to workers. Different states have different laws regarding the bonus and commission.
  
  For example, in New York, if the commissions are not paid properly, an employer will have to pay triple the damages when complainted about it. In addition, the decided bonus and commission is usually factored into the overtime calculus.

• Refusing to pay overtime - A worker who has worked for more than 40 hours in a workweek, is entitled to get overtime payments. However,many times they are denied their overtime.

• Unlawful deductions from payment - This in another common unpaid wages situation where the employer unnecessarily deducts money from a worker’s payment.

Apart from this, there are many other problems that the employees face on job, which includes doing office work from home, working for some extra time and so on. All these conditions are the violations of law and in any situation, a worker has the right to seek help from a professional FLSA overtime lawyer to receive compensation for their unpaid overtime work.

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Is Your Employer Paying You Your Rightful Wages?

There is no denying the fact that many employers try to avoid paying their workers for the extra working hours. This is the reason why many employees have to struggle for their rightful wages.

If you do not want to face such a situation, then here are some tips that you should follow that will ensure that you get paid for every single minute you have worked -

• Always keep a record of your working hours. This will help you to keep track of your total working hours and total wages that you have received based on your working hours.

• Keep a copy of the workplace policy and procedure manual with you. The manual describes the pay rate, working hours and rules for overtime wages. This will be needed by your lawyer, if you face wage violation.
  

• In case, you haven’t received your overtime wages, ask your colleagues about their overtime wages. If they have been paid for the extra working hour then there might be the case that you are a victim of some discrimination.

• If you are a victim of wage violation and you have sent a written notification to your employer, then first see whether your employer agrees to pay the wages.

• If the employer does not rectify the mistake, then keep a record of your e-mail or a memo. This will help you during your case as the employer might make an excuse that they did not receive any notification from your side.

• There are chances that after receiving your notification, your employer may change your job responsibilities to make you an exempt employee. But you should not worry, as you are still entitled to claim your overtime wages. 
  
  

In case, you face wage violation then you should contact an overtime law firm. The lawyer will fight for your rights and help you get your rightful wages.

Moreover, keeping a track of all the aforementioned things will help you to get things in your favor and receive rightful wages from your employer without prolonged litigation.

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2 Questions To Ask Your Employer To Avoid Overtime Related Issues

According to the law, most workers are entitled to be paid for each hour they spend working over 40 hours in a regular workweek. However, overtime related issues are still one of the most common wage related problems that employees face. Employers may use various tricks to pass up the payment of overtime.

But, you can avoid these issues. How? Before starting a job, you must ask your employers the following questions.

1.       Is your occupation exempt from overtime?

First thing you need to clear with your employers is whether the job you are joining is exempt from overtime laws or not. You should know that many occupations fall under this exemption category, which makes those employees exempt from fair wages. By clearing this fact, you can ensure that you will be paid for the extra hours (If any).

 2.       What is included in overtime?

This should be your next question. You should know what is included in the overtime category. Whether you are told to come to office few minutes earlier (before log in) or to stay late to complete your work, you are entitled to the payment for those extra hours.

Some employers trick workers into working before they log in or after they log out, so that there is no evidence of extra hours’ worked. But, employees should know that it still falls under overtime and they should get paid for those hours and work.

Before you start working on a job, you should clear up the above mentioned points with your employers. If you are still facing issues in getting paid for those extra hours, then you should raise questions regarding it with your employer or higher authorities in the company.

If you do not get justice from your company, then you should consult an unpaid overtime lawyer. The attorney can provide you legal counsel regarding this situation. They can also help you find out the best possible method of getting your unpaid overtime.

   

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Tips to make sure you are paid for every single working hour

There is no denying the fact that some employers cheat their workers and do not pay them properly. If you or your dear ones have ever faced such injustice, in spite of working off the clock, then you have all the rights to sue the employer for your wages.

 

If you are not sure, whether your employer is paying you for your complete working hours or not, then here are few tips to adhere, in order to get your rightful wages-

• Keep record of your working hours. Many employers make improper adjustments in the working hours of the employee in order to save their few bucks. You should not rely upon them completely because if you need to sue them later on, you will need to show your working hour records.
• Different workplace has different policies and procedures. At the time of joining, worker has to sign the manual. To be on the safe side, workers should keep one copy of the manual with them. This is because often employers contradict with the policies mentioned in the manual.
• Additional records proving you have worked overtime must be collected. This will also prove to be great evidence when filing a lawsuit against the employer.
• Maintain copy of your paystubs. This will also prove to be of great help, when needed to file a case against the employer.
• Colleagues who are also not being paid for their overtime can also prove to be good corroborator for your case.
• In order to get rightful compensation, you must contact an overtime lawyer who is well versed with employee rights. Discuss your case with an experienced lawyer. You should provide him all the evidences related to your working hours and manual of the employment law firm. In case, you do not have any evidence, then also the lawyer will guide you and help you get fair compensation.

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Employers’ wage schemes that every employee should be aware of

What an employee wants after working long hours for employer? To be paid fairly. You may not be aware of this but many employers use various tricks, schemes and methods aimed at deceiving their workers when it comes to wages. They trick employees into obtaining wages lower than what they truly deserve.

However, here is how employers scheme employers into getting less salary or no overtime. You should be aware –

If they are making you work before sign in or after sign off – You are entitled to get overtime if you are still finishing work after working hours or you started before signing in. If your boss is making you work even after signing off or before signing in, then you must claim overtime. It is a common trick that one uses to get a job done without paying a single penny.

If they are not paying you appropriately for overtime hours – You should be aware of the fact that overtime rate is time and a half of the hours. If you are not getting this rate for your extra hours’ work, then you should claim fair wages. Sometimes, companies pay simple salaries along with tips instead of appropriate overtime. It is against the law and a violation of your wage related rights.

Some bosses may tell you that you are not entitled for overtime since you are being paid on the salary basis. You must check if you fit in the overtime category according to regulations.

If they are making you work even in breaks or lunch – Many employers make their workers complete tasks in breaks or lunch time. It makes you entitled for overtime, which is usually not paid by bosses. You should be aware of these schemes to avoid getting tricked.

If there are illegal deductions in your salary – You should be aware of any deduction in your salary. You must demand answers from bosses if there are illegal deduction in your payment. Many employers deduct employees’ salaries illegally for invalid reasons like improper or missing uniform.

If you are a victim of any of the above mentioned situations, then you must contact an unpaid wages lawyer to know about your legal options. Your lawyer can suggest you the best legal action in these situations, so that you can claim your rightful payment.

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